Guides How to package like a pro: a guide on proper VAR building

[ZRSX]

ZRSX submitted a new resource:

How to package like a pro: a guide on proper VAR building - Don't know how to get rid of all those dependencies? Want some advice? I got your back.

Intro
There really is a recurring issue with VAR packaging. No one's to blame, really, as there is no guide on how to make a "good" VAR package.
I'll try to remedy to that.

In short, this guide is for you:

• If you’re about to post a resource starting by “I don’t know why I’ve got so many dependencies, but…”
• If you’ve tried to make a package and ended up with a lot of dependencies (if you’ve got more than a hundred...

Read more about this resource...

 

[RandomVAMUser]

First of all, great work!
(glad someone decided to go more in-depth)

Just wanna quickly point out, this:

• Then open the other JSON files (“YourSceneName.json”, “YourLookName.json”, “YourPresetName.json”…)

it doesn't only apply to .json (scenes/subscenes) or legacy stuff (preset/look/pose).
This also applies to .vap presets (general, appearance, clothing, hairstyle, morph, skin, plugin, etc...)
even individual custom/presets for specific clothing/hairstyle/atom.
...also you search inside .vap (same as .json).

 

[ZRSX]

I'll take a look at that and update the guide. Thanks for the info!

 

[AcademicInside]

IIRC from the early days of their existence, *.var is "VaM Archive" - since they're a ZIP-compressed file, not a RAR file.

 

[ZRSX]

I was sure somebody would know Thanks for sharing, I'll fix that!

 

[Dragontales]

I just posted a question in the forum but saw your post and figured I'd ask here. I just created a look that I want to share. However I used the skin textures from someone else's look (var package) and that var package is referencing several other items that my look doesn't use. However those dependencies are carrying over to my VAR, even though the appearance preset doesn't reference them in any way. Is there a way to sever that connection?

 

[ZRSX]

I used the skin textures from someone else's look (var package) and that var package is referencing several other items that my look doesn't use. However those dependencies are carrying over to my VAR, even though the appearance preset doesn't reference them in any way.

Yes, if your package refers to at least a component of a VAR, it will have a dependency to said VAR. And even if it uses only one thing, it will requires all the dependencies of this VAR. Those are "cascading dependencies".

It's quite logical: you depend on a VAR for your package to work, so this VAR has to work as well... and it relies on some dependencies for this, so you'll need them too.
VAM won't "guess" which dependencies are really useful for your package.

Is there a way to sever that connection?

Well, there are 2:

1. The clean and proper one: ask the creator of the VAR you're using to make a "skin-only" package. Or offer to make one for them, with appropriate credits. And then of course use this package instead.
2. The unclean and not to do: unpack the skin and repack it in your VAR. Which is in direct contradiction of the rule described in this guide:

Spoiler: The rule

Never ever make a package out of stuff you've extracted from a VAR. Extracting a VAR is a bad idea in the first place.

• If you use external stuff that were initially not packaged into a VAR, ask the creator if they could make it as a VAR. This would avoid to repack it each time somebody want to use it and will contribute to a better Hub